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Real Estate and Property Law: yet another neighbor/fence issue

500| Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:21:00 GMT| petergibbons| Comments (6)
What is the name of your state? Missouri
I have a crazy neighbor, as do many of you I'm sure. When we moved into our house in 1998, we had a fence built around the back yard. We got a survey done, and the fence was built wholly on our property. Some months later, the psycho lady next door claimed that the fence was on her property. In repsonse, we had the surveyor come back out and place permanent property markers on the borders of our property, further showing that the fence was all contained within our yard. We also have copies of the survey that clearly show the property line and the fence. All was quiet on that front until recently. The psycho neighbor has begun to run her weed-whacker along our fence after she cuts the grass. I made it clear to her that I didn't want her doing it, because the fence and 2 inches on the other side of it belong to me. That may sound petty, but if you knew this woman, you would understand. She's the "give her an inch and she'll take a mile" type, so I wanted to nip this in the bud before it blows up larger than it has to be. While I was telling her that I don't want her to trim on my fence, she again claimed that she owned the fence. I eventually went next door and spoke to her boyfriend, and told him that she doesn't have to like, or even believe that I own that fence, because it is true and I have the paperwork to back it up.
My question is, if she continues to trim on my fence, is this something that I'm going to have to call the police to put an end to, or are other alternatives available?

Keywords & Tags: neighbor, fence, issue, real, estate, property, law

URL: http://www.lawknowledge.org/real-estate-property-law/84747/
 
«« Prev - Next »» 6 helpful answers below.
How EXACTLY do you maintain those 2 inches without trespassing on your neighorbors property?
Unless this woman is damaging your fence (like slashing your fence with a brush cutter or otherwise) then it would seem your views on her trimming to the fence line are petty.

xylene | Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:27:00 GMT |

I'm sure it does seem petty to those who have not lived next to the woman. There is not enough band width on the 'net to list all of her transgressions agains me and my family. She went so far as to call the police and claim that my wife assaulted her, which was not the case. No charges were brought, because the case was obviously bogus to the officer who came in response. I have let a lot of her lunacy go in the spirit of avoiding conflict. She has made it quite clear that she doesn't want me or mine on any part of her property at any time. I am simply repsonding in kind. And I lean over the fence to trim it, which is the only maintenance necessary to the tiny strip of grass on the other side that belongs to me. I also lean over the fence to stain it, so as to adhere to her wishes of not getting into her yard. And she has damanged the fence with her lawn mower, putting deep gashes into it by scraping along while cutting the grass. I let that go, as well, because she is the only one who has to look at the gashes, not me. My insurance company offered to go after her for restitution to fix the gashes, but we declined in the spirit of being the better person. Suffice to say, that after 9 years of looking the other way more often than not, the gloves are off. Pettiness of the issue aside, any ideas as to how to handle this situation?

petergibbons | Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:37:00 GMT |

Quote:
Originally Posted by xylene
How EXACTLY do you maintain those 2 inches without trespassing on your neighorbors property?
Unless this woman is damaging your fence (like slashing your fence with a brush cutter or otherwise) then it would seem your views on her trimming to the fence line are petty.
You missed your opportunity for an alternative solution by not installing a weed-free border starting at your property line and ending at the fence 2"" away or continuing under the fence to prevent growth under the fence. If this is not a block fence and growth from your side of the boundary grows through the fence, whatever is on her side of the fence is hers to maintain, if she chooses. What do you plan to do when your fence needs maintenance on her side of the fence? She doesn't have to allow you access to her property and she can have you cited if it falls into disrepair. Find something else to fight about worth fighting about. Help a non-profit organization that helps kids, battered women or the elderly and disadvantaged if you need to channel your energies into something.

proejo | Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:43:00 GMT |

Good luck getting her cited for letting her yard go. Our neighbors have had a mud pit for the past eight years and the town does nothing. The dirt washes down the alleyway and they don't care. Their new thing is thinking they are going to grow ivy up our fence. I delibertly chop it from our side. Ivy only encouranges bugs and will wear our fence down.
I too have the two inch problem regarding our fence. We had a chainlink fence but when their yard became such an eyesore we installed a six foot wooden fence. We didn't need a permit and the neighbors hated the fence. The neighbor on the otherside who was trying to sell their house also installed a fence. That should have told them something.
People have no respect.

kismetcat | Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:46:00 GMT |

And some people don't read the dates on posts.

danno6925 | Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:04:00 GMT |

Quote:
Originally Posted by danno6925
And some people don't read the dates on posts.
My, you're on quite the crusade today. Have you been able to offer any good advice in between your admonishments?

mandyd | Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:34:00 GMT |

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